hell yeah new chapter babey! this one's a lil shorter so i'm sorry bout that but i promise the final scene is,, Good ;)
also uh my surgery went rly well :D ty every1 who sent me their best wishes! the first week was kinda rough but i'm feelin much better now.
anywho enjoy the read
VIII.
obstinacy (äbstənəsē)
[noun]
unyielding, stubborn persistence.
"No. Absolutely not."
An untamed anger swelled in his chest and Sonic straightened in his bed, the blanket falling to his lap.
The action revealed just how scarred his body was, and none of them were really sure they were expecting it. A blotch of his abdomen was only freshly scarred over from Silver's healing, and there was so much stress and dried blood clumped around his robotic shoulder, it was unnerving. And—and there was this massive scar, that ran unabashedly down his chest from his collarbone to his hips, jagged like a bolt of lightning and just as striking. It seemed pale and aged, but it was still jarring and it definitely wasn't there the last time they had seen him, before the war and his capture.
Sonic seemed unbothered by the way Amy jostled at the sight, his eyes fiery and wide as he locked right onto Rouge, who stood in the doorway. She returned an equally heated gaze, and the other mobians found themselves uncomfortable as they watched.
"I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing while he rots in a cell!" Sonic snapped. At that point Silver tried to press a hand to his chest and ease him back into laying down, but the blue blur was defiant and brushed his friend away.
Rouge crossed her arms, and everyone started to note how puffy her eyes were. "This is obviously a trap. Believe me, I want Shadow back just as much as you, but we can't just—"
"We can't what?" Sonic implored. "He's my goddamn fiancé, and I'm gonna save him. If you guys are too scared to join, then that's fine by me, but you can't stop me from—"
Knuckles planted a firm hand on the hedgehog's shoulder as he tried to clamber out of bed, halting him. "Sonic, you need to calm down. You're still injured. You're in no condition to fight."
"I can't just sit back and-!" The hero cut himself off and let out a pained sigh, falling back against the pillow as he pinched the bridge of his nose. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and diluted. "… I spent six months in that hellhole. I don't want anyone else to have to go through that too, let alone Shadow."
Silence draped over the cramped room, and their hearts ached.
Sonic peered back up to scan his friends' faces. He looked devastated. "Please. You have to let me save him."
"There's gotta be a better way to go about this," Silver piped up. "We just need a plan that ensures everyone gets out of there safe."
Amy pursed her lips, her gaze becoming unfocused as she concentrated. "Infinite's only rules were that Sonic shows up at their front door within twenty-four hours, alone and unarmed." She eyed them, something clever glinting in her bright jades. "Maybe we can bend the rules a little bit."
Sonic looked to Rouge. "Did he specifically say he wanted to trade me for Shadow, or was it more… ambiguous?"
The bat shrugged. "It's what he implied, but knowing that bastard he probably intends on keeping both of you."
"So…" he muttered, sitting up again in his bed, "We can probably expect that I'll be restrained pretty quickly after I get there, so I don't have a chance to get away or look for Shads. Maybe you guys can hide outside, and I can get a signal to you if I need backup."
Knuckles rose a brow, his gaze not trained on anything in particular. "Or a diversion."
Everyone looked to him, skepticism ebbing into their faces.
"Well, what if we draw him out?" he elaborated. "That way Sonic can sneak away in all the chaos and find Shadow."
The blue blur hopped out of bed and onto his feet, humming amiably to himself upon not feeling a single twinge of pain in his once-broken kneecap—or anywhere else along his body, for that matter. He draped his forearm over Knuckles' shoulder to lean on him nonchalantly, cracking a wide grin as he looked over the group.
"It's a date!"
Miles' hands worked automatically at the plane engine, and he let his mind drift for a few minutes—though, he strained to not let it drift too far. This place brought back some, uh, unpleasant memories.
But it was strange, really, to think he'd be piloting his pride and joy again briefly. The Tornado's coat of crimson was smudged in grime and soot, but that was manageable—he just needed to scrape out the last bits of waste to un-jam the engine and fix up the console. Frankly, she seemed pretty in shape already.
The kit looked up after a moment, about to call Gadget over to possibly help speed up this process (no need to linger around here longer than necessary) when they suddenly locked eyes.
"Holy shit," the wolf breathed with the ghost of a smile, only now seeming to notice the biplane. "Is that—"
"How pitiful. A mutt is scavenging around in the dumpster."
Everything seemed to freeze.
Instinctively, Miles ducked behind the plane, just barely peering over the cockpit as he wildly scanned the scene for the source of the voice, trying to regulate his breathing because fuck, he was shaking already and all he could think about was tears pooling in emerald eyes, blood smearing across cerulean fur, a desperate hand reaching towards him as carmine dribbled out of fawn lips—
A gasp—no, a whimper interrupted his musings, meek and helpless and pitiful. Infinite was already here, already strangling Gadget as he dangled him in the air, cackling mirthlessly. His friend was struggling, kicking wildly, clawing desperately at his throat as he fought for another breath.
Time was ticking, and Miles was quickly losing his hold on it.
Thoughtlessly, the fox started to rifle through his knapsack, clamping one of his hands over his mouth to try and muffle his heaving, trembling breaths because he was so goddamn terrified, this is the man that tore everything away from him and now he was here again, helplessly watching as he stole another friend's life right before his eyes and he couldn't do anything else, he was useless, he was a fucking coward, he—
His hand brushed against cool metal, and he exhaled, blinking meticulously. Distantly, he heard Infinite monologuing to Gadget as the wolf continued to wheeze and struggle. He had to hurry. He had to hurry.
(Coward. Coward. Coward.)
Tears suddenly welled in his eyes and his throat was too tight. He pressed both hands firmly against his lips as he let a miserable moan fall out, a torrent of salty teardrops quickly following after. Fuck.
Okay, okay, no. Focus. Breathe.
Miles dug his hands back in to find the icy metal in his bag, before hastily withdrawing the object to reveal a small revolver. There were four bullets left. He sighed and turned off the safety; cocked it.
He didn't like using real guns. He only used this one in emergencies. But the electric Wispon was useless—the whip was too slow and Infinite would hear the crackles before it could even touch him, and he wouldn't be able to get close enough to use the sword—and the burst one was out of the question (the flames would only engulf Gadget too).
And so he found himself staring at a rusty revolver, far too heavy and far too cold in his hand. Miles swallowed the knot in his throat and stood.
He stepped out from behind the Tornado, aiming the pistol with trembling hands and twitchy fingers hovering over the trigger. Infinite's back was to him, levitating just a couple inches above the ground as Gadget's face grew pale from a lack of oxygen. There was total silence for a few brief moments—save for the yearning gasps of the wolf—before Gadget managed to sputter out a single word.
"… Zero?"
Infinite immediately stiffened, and his grip started to slacken as the crimson male managed in a breath. Miles' joints locked up and ice rocketed through his veins. Now was his chance. He had to. He had to prove he wasn't a coward anymore.
Not anymore.
A silver bullet exploded out of the revolver, gliding seamlessly through the air and lodging itself in the back of Infinite's leg in a millisecond. The jackal cried out in pain, crumbling to the ground and, in turn, dropping Gadget. They both collapsed in a pathetic heap.
But they couldn't stop yet. Miles broke into a run, latching onto Gadget's arm and yanking him to his feet. The wolf was reeling, greedily sucking in air and shaking all over as he tried to calm down. Tears dripped down his face but it wasn't shameful or emasculating, the guy nearly suffocated at the hands of a goddamn terrorist.
Gadget stumbled into the kit, disoriented and scared and visibly upset as he continued to cough and wheeze.
"We need to hurry," Miles said, tugging persistently at his friend. But, as he gained his bearings, the elder started to resist.
He couldn't even talk yet, his voice lost as he massaged his throat, but Gadget struggled fruitlessly to return to Infinite's side, reaching to him in desperation. It was like]—like he wanted to help him.
No. No. Infinite was still downed, and they only had so much longer before the jackal recovered and attacked.
"Pl-plea—" Gadget rasped, frantically fighting against Miles as he beckoned to the tyrant. "Please! H-He… Zer—Zero…!"
The fox refused. He didn't—he didn't understand, Infinite was about to fucking kill him mere seconds ago and now—now—
"We have to go," Miles ordered, pulling Gadget along. "Get in."
The wolf faltered, casting a longing gaze over to the fallen dictator (monster, murderer, sadist). Infinite started to stir, blood pooling around his leg and a red aura of energy surrounding his hands.
Fuck.
Miles ushered Gadget into the passenger seat before scrambling into the pilot's seat himself, fingers automatically finding the correct order of buttons and switches and levers to push and flick and switch, shaking uncontrollably and suppressing the tears that burned in his eyes because they had to get away, he couldn't lose anyone else—
The engine rumbled to life, propellers starting to spin as the plane lurched forwards. Miles didn't look back. He couldn't.
Gadget was completely silent behind him, and Miles had no energy to check on him.
The Tornado rolled down an empty span of the junkyard, picking up speed until they lifted into the air.
It wasn't until minutes later, after nearly above the clouds, that they heard a livid, animalistic roar from the jackal down below.
There was something utterly bone-chilling about standing at the front door of his own prison.
Sonic took a deep breath, steeling himself and clenching his fists tautly. There was no need to knock. A security camera was trained on him and he already knew he was being watched. All that was left to do was wait.
(But he was always horrible at waiting.)
The door glided open easily, and the hedgehog was so lost in his thoughts the movement sent ice running through his veins as he inhaled sharply.
On the other side stood the man that stole away six months of his life. It took all of his willpower to not lunge right then at him.
"Ah, finally. Something goes right today," Infinite snarled, red energy crackling feverishly around him.
Sonic frowned. The hell was that supposed to mean?
He almost made some witty remark but—no. Stick to the plan. Focus. Provoking him won't solve anything.
Silence weighed down on them, and after a few beats of unbreakable eye contact that made the hero tremble (—with fear? Anticipation? Who was to say at this point—), Infinite turned briskly on his heel and headed back further into the decrepit base. Sonic watched him feebly for a few seconds before reluctantly tailing after.
And he didn't really mean to look, but emerald orbs landed on the fresh gunshot wound on the back of the jackal's right leg almost instantaneously and he began to panic because shit, where did that come from, was that from Shadow trying to escape, what—
"You seem tense," the canine muttered, his tone dry and bitter. He didn't cast a single glimpse over his shoulder to him. Hmph. Sonic thought he'd be relishing in this victory more. You ran away no more than a day ago, just to come crawling right back? Pathetic— "I'm a man of my word, hedgehog. You'll see your precious Shadow again."
Infinite was limping.
His fingers twitched, prosthetic arm jittery like it was possessed by something else. He could get the jump on him right now if—no, no. Stick to the plan.
Instead, Sonic scoffed, his gaze wandering disdainfully as they continued down the dim corridor. There was always something so claustrophobic about these walls; he felt like he was crawling down the throat of a beast, willingly embracing his inevitable demise. "Oh, gee, sorry. Sometimes I just get a little jumpy in the place you tortured me in for months."
Their walk was halted as the hallway came to an end, a thick steel door greeting them. The jackal turned back to face him. A sickly golden iris pierced through the mask, sending a wave of vertigo Sonic's way as memories of screams and blood and agony spurred in his head. He tried not to shudder, but he already felt clammy and anxious.
"You were shot." His own words surprised him as much as they did Infinite, but dammit there were no take-backs now. The blue blur crossed his arms, keeping his expression muted and distant. "What happened? I thought you were some un-killable god."
Infinite laughed dispassionately, taking a step forward to press a single claw up against Sonic's throat. The hedgehog squirmed and withdrew, only magnifying the demeaning look in the villain's eye.
"What's it to you?" the jackal muttered.
Sonic nearly growled.
There was a tense pause, before Infinite groaned tiredly. "Oh, for—your precious Shadow is safe and sound, if that's your concern. I simply ran into some…" He waved his hand around carelessly, trying to find the right words, as if his injury was just some mild inconvenience.
(But Sonic was the most stubborn asshole on the planet and he could sense a mile away when someone's pride was wounded.)
Infinite cocked his head slightly. "… Just some useless rodents who managed to get the jump on me. Believe me, if I had known there was another one hiding I would've—" A long sigh. "I'm not discussing this with you. I believe we set terms, no? And it seems you've held up your end of the bargain."
The urge to sock the fucker right in his ugly mask was getting exceedingly tempting, and the hedgehog had to swallow his fury before he did something stupid.
"Sure did. Now let Shadow go—and I wanna see him, I wanna know he's still alive and he gets out safely."
The air seemed to shift around them. Infinite edged closer to him, gently easing barbed fingers onto his shoulder and squeezing a little too hard.
"Oh, you naïve little rat," the demon drawled.
Talons snapped around Sonic's neck and suddenly he was choking for air, thrashing wildly in an unbreakable grip, red energy was curling all around him—
"Neither of you are going anywhere. I never said he'd get to roam free. But I am a man of my word—you'll still reunite with him." The words 'in hell' are left unsaid. And yet—
It was so predictable.
It took all of the hedgehog's strength not to break into laughter. The current chokehold he was held in certainly helped alleviate the urge.
Discreetly, Sonic curled his left hand to just barely dig his fingers beneath the cuff of his glove. He vaguely felt a small band hidden beneath the cuff, and pressed a button on it with a veiled satisfaction. The others were notified.
Now he just had to buy some time.
Wordlessly, the speedster kicked his legs forwards, sending Infinite stumbling backwards as he collapsed to the ground, himself. Sonic leapt to his feet, his body only resisting a little as he tried to catch his breath, and held up his fists.
Infinite preened. "You're a fool if you think you stand a chance against me. You cannot even begin to fathom the capabilities of my powers. You can't even escape, not in here."
The hedgehog's lips curled into a smirk. "Bite me."
Sonic pushed himself forwards, lunging right for the Phantom Ruby, but Infinite teleported behind him and punched him square in the back before he even got the chance. He groaned, the wind knocked out of him, as he fell to the ground. The canine stalked up to him and lifted him up effortlessly, claws wrapping around his throat and squeezing even tighter than before. The hero was slammed against a wall, and he grimaced as the back of his head ached from the impact.
Chaos, guys, hurry up—
Sirens began to screech across the facility.
Ah. There we go.
"What the-?" the tyrant looked back down the long hallway, as if waiting for invaders to pounce out of the shadows.
Just barely managing to croak out the words, Sonic murmured, "Y-You gonna get that?"
Infinite glowered. Sonic leered dazedly at him; his vision was growing fuzzy.
Mutely, the dog turned and threw the hedgehog full-force at the steel door, only a foot or so away from them. Sonic yelped, preparing himself for a concussion, but the impact never came. Instead, he flew through the door, which had miraculously morphed into some red veil of energy—no doubt conjured from a certain ruby—and landed unceremoniously against a concrete floor on the other side.
"Don't move. It appears I've got some unwelcome company to deal with before I can deal with you," Infinite snapped, before flicking his wrist at the veil of red. The steel door re-materialized in unison with the motion. Sonic released a shaky breath he didn't realize he was holding in.
Well. Things seemed to be going to plan.
… For the most part, anyways.
Gadget felt cold.
He grunted uncomfortably, shifting against the biplane. Miles hadn't spoken a word to him since they had left the junkyard, and as soon as they'd landed on the beach he'd just made a small campfire and fallen asleep.
Their flight had been long and eerie, and sure, Gadget was glad to be on solid ground again, but it was still an uneasy three hours of staring at the back of the kit's head, trying not to have a full-blown panic attack as he wondered where they were headed. It seemed like Miles never had a particular destination in mind; he'd just abruptly landed them on this beach after getting tired enough.
And, although Gadget didn't know the exact time, it had been well into the night when they settled here, laying in the sand and propped up against the plane. The wolf had just been staring restlessly into the dwindling flames before them, and now the sun was already rising again.
Despite getting no sleep whatsoever, though, he didn't feel tired in the slightest.
He felt cold.
The campfire emitted a heat that he could acknowledge, that he knew made him sweaty and hot, but—but there was this feeling of ice inside him, spreading languidly down his torso and limbs, making him tremble uncontrollably and hug himself tighter. He just—he couldn't stop thinking.
Cautiously, Gadget spared a glance over to the resting fox. Miles was curled against one of the plane's wheels, bundled up in a spare blanket from the small storage compartment on the underside of the vehicle (he had offered it to Gadget, but it was vehemently refused because the kid had been shivering violently at that point). He couldn't help but frown at the sight, though—Miles' face was tense and distraught; he looked stiff. Must be having a bad dream.
He almost stirred his companion awake, but figured they needed all the rest they could get, regardless of whether it was riddled by nightmares or not.
With a heavy sigh, Gadget leaned back against the biplane and drew his knees to his chest, hugging himself loosely. His temples were tight and achy, and he found it nearly impossible to keep his eyes closed for too long. He felt restless and pent-up.
Chaos, he couldn't even—that had to have been Zero. There was no doubt. His ashen fur, the scruffy white fluff at his neck, his disheveled dreadlocks, his fucking voice—
The way he faltered when Gadget said his name. His real name.
—But it just made no sense. Zero, his Zero, was so gentle. He was a goddamn physicist, maybe just a little eccentric and obsessed with his work but so dedicated and tender and thoughtful and—and he just, he always knew what to say, he knew how to ease Gadget out of panic attacks and he knew more than anything that his favorite food was peaches, he knew that no matter how reckless he acted that Gadget loved him unequivocally—
He—fuck. He loved him. So damn much.
(And now he was some demonic mass murderer who didn't even remember him.)
Gadget strained to recall before. He remembered their parting kiss, brief and thoughtless because surely Zero would be back by dinnertime, he just had a shift that night that was a little longer than normal—
But then a good half an hour had passed since Zero's shift ended, and Gadget was calling for the fifth time and it still just went to Zero's voicemail, and Chaos, now he was panicking—
And then an hour had gone by and there was still nothing, and Gadget headed to the supermarket Zero worked at and messaged all of his friends and asked all of the coworkers there if they'd seen him after he left work and nobody had, Zero never made it home, where the fuck was he—
Zero was missing. Gadget… Gadget filed a report to the police and they searched the entire campus, searched the whole damn city, their only lead a splatter of blood in some dark alleyway near the supermarket and a few witnesses claiming they thought they'd heard a gunshot, but no bodies, no nothing.
Zero was missing. And Gadget felt disgusted with himself because he didn't even properly say goodbye before Zero had left their dorm that morning, just that stupid peck on the lips and a little wave before he kept studying for some test he had that afternoon, carelessly assuming he'd see his boyfriend again that evening.
Two weeks passed. And then the bombings started, and a certain mad doctor managed to take over the whole fucking planet.
Gadget could only assume Zero was dead.
(—Except he wasn't, he just saw him a few hours ago and maybe he could convince Miles to go back, see where he went wrong because Zero had to be just confused or manipulated, he'd never intentionally hurt anybody, not his Zero—)
Something rustled in the foliage, just a few meters up the beach where sand morphed into thick grass and tall trees. Gadget froze, ears twitching as his senses tuned in. For a few seconds all he could hear was the lethargic waves lapping against the coast, and a morning breeze twisting through the tree canopies.
Maybe he'd just imagined it. Maybe it had just been a flicky skittering by.
But then something continued rustling around, followed by a loud thump. Gadget's heart leapt into his throat.
The wolf casted a wary glance to Miles, who was still fast asleep. Swallowing thickly, he resolved to stand up and grab the red Wispon laying in between them in the sand.
Gadget started forwards, slow and methodical, aiming the flamethrower with twitching hands as he approached the source of commotion. He tried to keep his breathing quiet, but it proved difficult as his heart rate began to spike, anxiety brewing in his gut.
With only a moment of hesitation, Gadget pounced into the foliage, finger hovering over the trigger as his Wispon locked onto his target.
But he wavered, upon meeting a pair of timid, blue, mobian eyes gazing right back at him.
His head was pounding, and it took Sonic a solid minute to muster the strength to rise to his feet. When he did, his world tilted, and he nearly keeled over. The hedgehog grunted and stumbled to the nearest wall, leaning against it as he calmed himself down.
He definitely felt woozy, but he'd be alright. He was fine.
After savoring his brief rest, Sonic pushed off the wall and started to limp towards the steel door. There had to be a way to open it. He had to get out and find Shadow, and a slab of metal was not going to get in his way.
Tentatively, he withdrew the Chaos Emerald from his quills, watching with vague fascination as the dim lighting bounced off its facets, a teal light glimmering around it. He only got one use with it. Because Infinite only needed to sense one Chaos Control before realizing there was an emerald nearby and Sonic had it.
As tempting as it was to teleport to the other side of the door, Sonic begrudgingly tucked the gem back into his quills. He needed to save it for when he found his partner, so he could just warp them back to HQ.
The hedgehog swiveled around to lean his back to the door and scan the room for another exit.
But then he did, and his eyes landed on an ebony hedgehog bound to a chair, watching him with a half-lidded gaze.
Sonic's heart fluttered. "Shit, you're—" He staggered towards him, falling to his knees before the chair to stare right into glazed, ruby eyes.
Shadow slumped a little and his head tilted to the side like a lost puppy—he was very clearly not sober and, in fact, very drugged up. "Mmph, you aren't… You're dead."
The sight was outright heartbreaking, but his lips still twitched up into a watery smile. The speedster glided a hand up to cradle his fiancé's cheek fondly. "I'm not, babe, I promise. I'm right here."
This only elicited a perturbed frown and low grumble. "… But Tails said—"
"Look at me, Shads," the cerulean male ordered, his voice soft and tender. "I'm alive. I'm gonna save you, okay?"
Shadow's eyes grew misty. "But I thought…"
It was no surprise to either of them when they subconsciously leaned into each other, lips locking immediately. Sonic hummed pleasantly, easing his free hand (his fake hand) to massage metal fingers around Shadow's side and lower back. The agent's hands were bound behind himself so he couldn't return the gesture, and instead deepened the kiss and purred lowly as he pushed further against his partner. His lips were chapped and dry but Sonic relished in the feeling of Shadow's tongue brushing along his teeth, feeling his warm breath spread across his face.
They pulled away slowly; reluctantly.
"… You're here," Shadow murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Sonic chuckled, pressing their foreheads together and letting his eyes fall closed for a second. "I told ya' all those years ago, Shads. I die hard."
Shadow snickered at that, and the sound made something warm and adoring curl around Sonic's heart—something familiar, something loving.
"Alright, babe," the blue blur said, pressing another chaste and hasty kiss to his lips. "Let's get you home."
He began to work at untying the bonds at Shadow's ankles and wrists, while the other simply sat there and watched, his breaths slow and steady. When Sonic was finished, he lingered a moment to run his hands along his partner's body, feeling all of the fresh cuts and bruises and wishing he could make them all fade away, before starting to pull him to his feet.
Clearly Shadow wasn't entirely prepared, as he wobbled and fought against gravity. Sonic slung an arm around his waist to hold him up, carrying most of his weight. The Ultimate Lifeform leaned into him, looking pale and disoriented. The drugs in his system were hindering his motor functions and thoughts, and it showed.
Frowning pitifully, Sonic withdrew the Chaos Emerald from his quills again, holding it in front of them as he mentally began to speak the magic words; the glow of the teal stone began to swell, and Shadow grabbed his wrist with sudden apprehension.
"Where're we going…?" the striped hedgehog slurred out, looking immensely confused. He blinked placidly. "Infinite—Infinite took my emeralds, we gotta get 'em back…"
Sonic smiled warmly. "Don't worry, our friends got everything under control. My mission right now is to get you to safety, 'kay?"
Shadow regarded him distantly, like he wasn't fully perceiving what was even happening. He huffed and lolled his head to the side, resting against Sonic's shoulder. "… M'kay."
In a grand flash of light, they were gone.
hehehe gay (ok but seriously yall have no idea how long ive been waiting to write that sonadow scene. i just want my babies 2 be happy is that too much to ask for-)
but yeah! infinite's having a Bad Day lol, sonic has his hubby again, and miles & gadget are Shook :)
stay tuned for next chapter it's gonna get real angsty real soon (but it's also a rly fun one i promise)
